The California Girl
by Riana Salvatore
Summary: Samantha Atwood comes from a tough place. Though when she gets a way out, she decides to take it. Even if it means end coming between two sisters. It can't be worse than Chino, right? Kaitlin/Female Ryan/Marissa love triangle.
1. The Pilot

I was with my brother Trey. Somehow that didn't make feel safer. My name is Samantha Atwood. I've spent all of my life in the town of Chino, California. Think of it as a surprising white version of the projects.

"I'm your brother. I've gotta take care of you." Trey told me. He was basically teaching me how to steal a car. I knew that I shouldn't be here, but the alternative was being at home with my mom and her boyfriend, so I chose the lesser of two evils. He pried open the car door unlocked it so I could get inside before he hotwired it and began to drive. "See it was easy."

We didn't make it very far before the police showed up. In a short period of time, we were both handcuffed. Suddenly my mom's boyfriend didn't look so bad.

After a few hours, I was told to go meet with my attorney that I apparently had. The girls in the cell were pretty ruthless. I imagine he was going to tell me about my court date. Well it was my first offense. I walked out to see a man with bushy eyebrows in a suit and took a seat.

"Samantha Atwood, I'm Sandy Cohen, you're court appointed attorney." He introduced.

"Where's my brother?" I asked him. Well I knew he was probably with the men, but I was hoping for more insight.

"Trey's over 18, got a few charges, and they found and a gun some pot on him. He's looking at 3-5" Sandy replied. "I'm more interested in you. I can get brought down to a misdemeanor, say you were coerced and get you probation. I know life has given you a bad hand, but I've seen you test scores, you could be a good student if you actually went to school."

"Great, an inspirational speaker…" I muttered.

"You know if you ever need a hand, you can give me a call." He said as he gave me a card and we went outside. It was at that point that my mother drove up, very erratically I might add.

"Damn it, Sam, I've got a family of crooks." She cursed. She was obviously thrilled to see me. I also don't like being called Sam.

"Mrs. Atwood, I'm Sandy Cohen, Samantha's attorney." The lawyer remarked as he held his hand out. She didn't take it.

"You should have let her rot in there like her father and her brother." My mom told him. "Come on, Sam. Let's go."

I got in my mom's car with a frown. I was not going to like it when I got home.

When we got there, her loser boyfriend was there. All he did was sit around the house and drink beer. This is why I hated being at home. I was probably going to be grounded now.

"They let her out?" He asked.

"Are you surprised?" I spat. Home sucked. The place was practically falling apart and neither of them really worked. I probably needed to get a job, if anyone would hire me now that I've been arrested. Maybe I could because I don't know if anyone would know that.

"Don't talk to me like that, you bitch." He yelled. He walked over and pushed me backwards. I grabbed one of his beer bottles and hit him the head with it.

"Get out of my house!" My mom ordered. "Get out or I'm calling the cops."

I got on my bike and headed to a payphone. I didn't have a cellphone. I put the money in and called the only person that I could call.

"Hello?" He answered.

"I need your help." I told him. "My mom kicked me out."

"Where are you?" He asked. I told him my location and in a short amount of time, he was there. I decided to lead my bike, even though I didn't know how long this would be. I couldn't help but notice that his car looked pretty nice. He apparently was going to let me stay with him for a few days.

It was a long drive. He apparently lived somewhere called Newport Beach. It was about half an hour before either of us decided to speak.

"This is a nice car." I commented. "I didn't know your kind of lawyer made money."

"We don't, but my wife does." He said, raising an eyebrow. It looked a little creepy. We ended up in a gated community and some guy let us in. He pulled up to his driveway and I prepared to go in. "Why don't you wait in the car."

He pulled the keys out and looked at me wearily.

"I'm not stupid enough to do that." I responded before he put them back in. I probably wasn't even gonna stay in the car.

I did decide to get out and walk around. If I was a smoker, this would be a good time to have a cigarette, but I'm not. I noticed a girl with sandy-blonde hair, darker than mine wearing a fancy camisole and jeans. She was much taller than me. I never said before, but I am short. I'm only 5'2".

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm whoever you want me to be." I replied. I like girls, okay.

"Okay…" She said uneasily as she walked over to me. "What are you doing here, seriously?"

"Seriously, I stole a car, actually my brother did. Since he had a gun and drugs on him, he's in jail and I'm free. My mom then threw me out She was pissed off and drunk, so I called Mr. Cohen and he took me in." I explained. He stared at me, wondering if I was actually telling the truth. Her smile seemed to indicate that she thought I was lying.

"So you're the cousin from Boston, right?" She asked me. I suppose that was a better thing to go telling people. I can't believe a lie is more believable than the truth.

"Sure." I replied.

"Hi, Marissa." Sandy interrupted us. I hadn't noticed him. Marissa was a beautiful name.

"Hey, Mr. Cohen." Marissa greeted him. "I was just meeting your niece."

"My niece?" He asked in confusion. I glared at him, telling him to play along. "Oh, my favorite nephew, Samantha, all the way from Seattle."

"Boston." I corrected him.

"Right." Sandy agreed. "So, we're all really excited for your fashion show fundraiser tomorrow night."

What's a fashion show fundraiser? Okay, it is probably a fashion show that is meant to raise funds, but for what I wondered.

"Really?" Marissa asked in what seemed like a mixture of glee and surprise. "You are?"

"No." Sandy relented. Marissa just giggled. Suddenly a girl in a jeep pulled up. She had blonde hair, similar to mine, but she was dressed more like Marissa.

"Come on, Marissa." She replied.

"You should come by and check it out, if you don't have any plans. See ya." Marissa invited before she got in the vehicle. I saw the two of them kiss before they left.

"Let's go inside." Sandy invited.

He took me to this little house out by the pool. There were some maids and a blonde woman that I assumed was his wife.

"So this is where you'll be staying." He stated. That was kind of obvious. "And this is the queen of the house, my wife Kirsten."

"Hello, Samantha, welcome to our home." She greeted me with a smile that I could tell was fake. She then gestured to the Hispanic maid. "If you need anything, Rosie here can help you."

"Thank you." I told them.

"We'll see you in the morning." Sandy declared. "Make yourself comfortable."

Once they were gone, I shrugged off my jacket, before taking my pants off.

In the morning, I stepped out, in the same state of dress. The sun was bright and the scenery was beautiful. I decided to put my pants back on before I headed into the house to see what I could do for food. The first thing that I noticed was a guy my age who looked like he had just got out of bed himself on the floor with a controller. I guess he was their son.

"Hey." He greeted me. I said to him and there were some awkward glances exchanged before he spoke up. "Do you wanna play?"

I grabbed some cereal and I found out that he was really good at the game.

"Where's your head? You can fight without a head." He gabbed. It seemed like he talked a lot. "So do you want to play _Grand Theft Auto_, it's pretty cool, you get to steal cars…not that that's cool or anything."

"I see you two have met." Sandy declared as he walked into the room with groceries. "Seth, what are you doing inside on this beautiful day? You should be showing Samantha around."

"Because there's obviously so much to do around here." Seth quipped. It looked like there probably was a good deal of things you could do. "What do you want to do?"

"You could show me what you do around here." I suggested.

Soon we were on a sailboat. I hoped he knew how to get us back to the shore.

"You know I don't really talk to girls, that much." Seth told me. I wouldn't have guessed that. "Next July, I want to sail to Tahiti. I can do it in 44 days."

"That sounds cool." I commented. It must be nice to be rich. "Are you sure that you won't get lonely, though?"

"I'll have Summer with me." He declared. That sounded a little delusional. "She's the girl that I named my boat after.

"Is she your girlfriend?" I asked.

"I've never talked to her." He replied. I guess that was a no. We managed to make it back to shore okay.

"Hey, you two, I thought we'd head over to the fashion show at 7:00." Sandy remarked. It seems like he's everywhere.

"Okay, have fun." Seth told his father.

"Come on it's a whole new school year, Seth." Sandy urged. I wonder how he planned on getting Summer to go with him.

"It's the same kids, Dad." Seth countered. "Why do they need a fashion show? Every day's a fashion show for these people."

"Well, Samantha has to go. Marissa invited her." Sandy declared. Yay, even though I was looking forward to seeing her.

"Marissa invited you?" He asked. I just shrugged. "I've lived next door to Marissa since forever and she's never invited me to a birthday party. Her dad even almost married my mom."

"They didn't almost get married." Sandy argued.

"Maybe Summer will be there." I suggested. I had no idea if she would or not.

"She is Marissa's best friend." Seth stated. That was a lucky coincidence. "7:00?"

"7:00." Sandy agreed with him.

Later that day, I was getting ready. Kirsten had loaned me one of her dresses, tt was red and fairly modest, and a pair of black heels. I was having trouble with the zipper, probably because I don't wear dresses that much. Sandy came in and zipped me up.

"You look beautiful." He told me in a complimentary but not lecherous sort of way. "So what do you think of Seth? He's very interesting if you get to know him."

"Seth's cool." I replied. I was pretty sure that he wasn't cool. "I don't think he talks to girls much though."

"So, I bet this beats a jumpsuit." He quipped. Well now I know where Seth gets it from.

We headed to the location and I tried to do my best not to trip. I don't wear heels. They weren't too high at least. A flamboyant waiter offered me some appetizers that I'm not sure even count as food.

"Welcome to the dark side." Seth whispered into my ear. I guess I would have to mingle a little. People seemed to buy the Boston thing. I stumbled in my heels as I tried to get away from them.

"You don't wear heels much, do you?" A girl with brown hair asked me. If I had to guess, I'd say that she was 14 or 15.

"Is it that obvious?" I questioned.

"Yes." She replied. "I'm Kaitlin."

"Samantha." I responded.

"So Boston how about that Bill Buckner?" She questioned me.

"He's great." I replied.

"You're not from Boston because everyone there hates him." Kaitlin responded. "So what are you doing here?"

"A girl named Marissa invited me." I explained. "I'm staying with the Cohens."

"So you've met my sister." She replied. I guess they did look kind of alike. I noticed her across the pool with another girl who I might have been Summer. "Well, I'll see you around, Sammie."

Suddenly, Marissa ran over to me.

"Can I have a big favor from you?" She asked as she grabbed my arm.

"Umm…" I replied.

"One of the girls have come down with a stomach bug or is just bulimic, but we need someone else. Please, please, please."

So now I was part of the show. I was a runway model. I wouldn't have believed this yesterday. Couldn't they have chosen anyone else? I only hoped that I wouldn't make a fool of myself. Later, Marissa was helping me with my makeup in the bathroom.

"Look what I stole." The girl who I thought was Summer declared. She was holding two champagne glasses.

"Look what I stole." Marissa responded as she produced a bottle of vodka. "Sum, this is Samantha from Boston."

I had a feeling that getting drunk would be a bad idea, but I took the glass anyway. I do have to say being backstage with a lot of half-dressed girls was cool though.

I was just glad that it was over when it was over. I was proud that I didn't fall. I had heard a lot of people whispering wondering who I was. I was back in my original dress and preparing to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Summer asked me. "My friend, Holly, well her parents are letting use her beach house as a gift for all our hard work for charity and you should definitely come."

I'm not sure how wearing a dress counts as charity work. If I had received community service, I wonder if this would have counted. I went and grabbed Seth.

"We should go to that party." I suggested. He needed to be more proactive if he wanted to get Summer to notice him, even though I think she was flirting with me.

"It's not really my scene." He responded.

"Summer invited me." I told him.

"How do you keep getting invited to stuff?" He questioned. I think involved my boobs. We went and got into this truck driven by this guy.

I went inside of the house and I saw drugs on the table and a guy with his hands under a girl's shirt. This was crazier than a Chino party. Also, everyone seemed to be wearing bikinis.

"This is the dark side." I told Seth with a grin. One thing that I noticed was the guy who drove us there was talking to Marissa's girlfriend. Actually, he had his hand on her ass. That was useful info that I might be able to use later.

I walked around the party some more before I decided that I should get a drink. It was at that point, that Kaitlin walked over to me and stole my drink from me. I didn't expect to see her here.

"So what do you think of Newport?" She asked me

"I couldn't probably get in less trouble where I'm from." I responded.

"Where is that?" She pried.

"Kaitlin, you shouldn't be here." Marissa came over.

"I'm only a year younger than you." Kaitlin argued. I don't think I wanted to get into this family drama. I decided to walk away. I went outside and then Summer walked up to me. She was wearing a bikini top and miniskirt.

"Look who I found." She slurred as she stumbled over to me with a hand on my chest. Okay, Newport girls are forward. "Oops, I'm wasted. So what's your name?"

"Sam, we should..." Seth started, before noticing the two of us together. I needed to tell him not to call me that. "What are you doing? I named my boat after her."

"It's not what you think?" I declared after wriggling free of her.

"Why don't you just go back to Chino, Dyke?" Seth replied. Well, he was upset, so I was going to let that one go. "There's probably a car that you could steal there."

"Chino, ew." Summer replied. I had been outed in more ways than one. Though, right now, I just wanted to apologize to Seth, even though I didn't actually do anything. I saw a bunch of guys were pushing him around. They took a few swings at him.

"Put him down!" I ordered, despite the fact that they had no reason to listen to me.

"Put him down." Marissa's girlfriend declared and the guys listened. "I want both of you to leave my house now."

So this was Holly.

"Are you Marissa's girlfriend?" I asked her.

"Yeah, why?" Holly responded.

"Does she know that you've been with this _guy_ all night?" I questioned. The guy looked pissed.

"No, let me, Luke." Holly replied. She then kicked me to the ground hard. It was very painful. "Welcome to the O.C., Bitch. This is how we do it in Orange County."

I began to limp back, with Seth. Kaitlin ended up joining us. She ended up giving us a ride, even though I was pretty sure that she wasn't old enough to drive.

"So, Chino, huh?" She responded. "I think you need to work on your fighting."

"Thanks for the help." I told her as I went back to the pool house. I think Kaitlin had to return the vehicular before anyone noticed that it was gone.

"So, you had my back even after I was such a dick to you." Seth stated.

"Summer was throwing herself at me." I explained. "I wasn't interested. I'm sorry."

"Well, that wasn't how I planned to talk to her, but at least I'm on her radar." He responded. "Should I tell her about Tahiti?"

"You should probably make sure that she likes guys first." I remarked.

"So I need to take this dress off, so I would appreciate if it you looked away or fell asleep or something." I told him. He ended up falling asleep. Before I could start to undress, I heard a sound of a car pulling up next door and I don't think it was Kaitlin. It wasn't. It was Summer and some girl leaving a passed out Marissa on her driveway. I don't think either of them should be driving and they just left her there. What great friends she has. I couldn't just leave her there. So I basically had two options. I could wait until Kaitlin returned or I could go help her. I don't know how long that would be. I went down just as Kaitlin was arrived back in a cab.

"What happened?" She asked as she looked over her sister.

"Apparently they couldn't find her keys and left her here." I explained.

"Well my parents will freak if I bring her in like this." Kaitlin responded. "I know: we can put her in the pool house with you. Grab her legs."

We carried Marissa up to the pool house together and laid her down on the bed.

"You know for what it's worth, I hope you stick around." Kaitlin told me. "You're a lot more interesting than some of the people around that live here."

I decided not to use the bed, so she wouldn't wake up and ask why were in bed together.

She was gone when I woke up. Kirsten then came in all kinds of upset. I think I would have to work fast if I wasn't going to get kicked out. Seth didn't help by basically saying that I was a terribly influence on him.

"Okay, so maybe going to the party was a mistake." I declared. "And I'm really sorry. I broke your trust, but I don't have anywhere else to go. My mom doesn't care. I was only with my brother because I didn't want to be around her or her boyfriend that likes to hit me for fun, but as soon as I fight back I get thrown out."

I was basically in tears. My life really sucked. Half of it was acting, but having no one who cared about who wasn't in jail was a really depressing thing. I guess it worked because she gave me a hug.

"I'm probably making a horrible decision here, but you can stay here as long as you want." Kirsten told me. "We'll have to sort some things out, but you need someone who cares about you."

So I don't know why I wrote this. It's probably not going to get any reviews. This story is a combination of a few different ideas that I had. I actually posted a story like this awhile ago which had Seth as a girl. This one has Kaitlin only a year younger than Marissa so she's more involved. Anyway, Sammie is played by Britt Robertson. So is she about to find herself in the middle of a Cooper love triangle? Also will she be as badass as Ryan? Please don't forget to review.


	2. The Debut

After a few days, Seth and I were once again playing video games. I wasn't sure if he did much else. I still find it hard to believe that my crying worked. Apparently, my mom even agreed that I was better off with them. Sandy and Kirsten walked in, all dressed up. I guess it wasn't too weird considering that they were both working adults.

"Who died?" Seth asked. Now that is not funny.

"Seth, we need to talk to Samantha." Sandy replied.

"Okay, but if this has to do with the rug…" Seth started. I don't think it had to do with the rug.

"What's this about the rug?" Kirsten asked. Yeah, it wasn't about the rug.

"You know what, never mind." Seth replied before making a hasty exit. After that the two of them took a seat on the couch.

"So, Kirsten and I went to Child Services and we told them that we want you to stay with us." Sandy replied. I couldn't help but grin. "But there's a catch. Because you're a minor, the only way that can happen is if we assume all legal responsibility for you. So we'd appreciate it if you stay out of trouble."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. I didn't want them to get in trouble for something I did.

"Are you?" Sandy replied. "It's your choice."

"We've all talked about this and we want you to be part of our family." Kirsten said. "If you want to be."

"It would probably be a good idea for you to avoid fighting with the head cheerleader." Sandy quipped.

"Okay, no more fights and no more trouble." I promised.

"Welcome to the family." Sandy replied as he gave me a hug and then Kirsten gave me one too. "Seth, you can come in now."

They walked away and Seth walked back in.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" I asked him.

"I didn't want to jinx anything." Seth responded with a smile. "But you are a Cohen now. We're practically brother and sister."

"Well now all I need to do is stay out of trouble." I responded. "I need your help with that. If you ever think I'm about to do something stupid, I give you the right to drag me away."

Kirsten then took the two of us to the pool house. I was pretty sure that she wanted me to redecorate.

"You'll need bedding and towels and how's the bed, Samantha, it is comfortable?" She asked before Seth flopped on it.

"It's comfortable." Seth replied.

"Thanks, Samantha." I deadpanned.

"We really want you to have privacy, but this a pool house. It needs some warmth." She explained. "You need chairs, a desk, and a bookshelf."

"Plus a flatscreen, turntables, minibar." Seth quipped.

"And we need to clean all of this out so you can room for some of your stuff." She added. I looked at her. "Right, you don't have any stuff, which means you have to go shopping, for clothes, and shoes, other things."

"I'll get everything." I told her.

"And you'll need a white dress for cotillion." She added.

"What?" I asked, not knowing what that was.

"It's the annual debutante ball. It's Newport's biggest event." Kirsten explained after we drove to this place.

"Until whatever comes up next week." Seth quipped.

"It's the day that Newport's most accomplished young women make their debut into society." She added.

"And how does that apply to me?" I asked. I had not accomplished anything.

"Or another excuse for them to get wasted and throw up on everything." Seth stated.

"Hey, I was a deb." Kirsten replied. "I made my debut at this very country club not so many years ago."

"The year was…" Seth started.

"Hey." She cut him off. "Watch it."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked.

"You have to go. It's a family tradition." She told me.

"Hello, dear." A red-haired woman greeted her and they kissed each other's cheeks. I don't think I'll ever understand that part.

"Hi, Peggy." Kirsten declared. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it will be fine." Peggy replied. "The fitting area is back there."

"Come on, you two. It'll be fun." Kirsten replied as she led us. Usually when someone says that, it's not fun.

"Okay, pick whatever you want." A woman instructed me. "We have Gucci, Armani, Versace is over there."

I was way out of my depth.

"Hi, I'm picking up for Marissa Cooper." A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey." I greeted her.

"Hey." She reciprocated. "What are you doing here?"

"I am a deb, I guess." I answered. "I'm kind of living with the Cohens."

"Well you probably need someone to help you." Kaitlin said as she appeared suddenly. "I'm guessing that you have no idea how to pick out a dress."

"Hey, Coop, Mini-Coop." Summer greeted us as she and Holly appeared. Kaitlin rolled her eyes. "These gloves are giving me serious sausage arms."

"What are you doing here?" Holly asked as she put her hand on Marissa's shoulder. "I thought you were going back to Chino."

"So, Kaitlin, you wanted to help me find a dress…" I said hastily as I grabbed her arm.

"Is everything alright?" Kirsten interrupted.

"I'll be in the Jeep." Holly stated as she walked off.

"Marissa, I was going to call you." Kirsten stated. "Since you're lead deb, I wanted to introduce you to a white knight and a last minute deb."

"Every girl needs a white knight." Summer remarked.

"Seth Cohen, white knight." Seth said to her. He's talking to her. He's making progress!

"So you'll be at the rehearsal?" Summer asked.

"Yes, absolutely." Seth declared.

"See you there." Summer purred, probably at me. "Come on, let's go."

"I actually wanted to ride back with them." Kaitlin stated before looking at Kirsten. "If that's all right with you."

"Sure." Kirsten replied.

"Cotillion rocks." Seth commented before Kaitlin dragged me away over to where the dresses were.

"So do you know what kind of dress you want?" Kaitlin asked.

"No." I responded. "What are you getting?"

"Oh, I'm not a deb." She replied. "I'm not old enough."

"And yet you know what kind of dress I should get." I remarked as I looked through the racks. They all looked the same to me.

"That's benefit of years of Newport parties." Kaitlin declared. "Try this one."

Later, Seth and I walked into the house with Kirsten. I had selected a dress with these black gemstones on it that I was not sure if they were real or not. Sandy was in the kitchen with some wine.

"Hey, what are you doing home?" Kirsten asked.

"Do you two mind?" Sandy replied. That was code for 'Please leave.'

"If this is about the vase…" Seth started.

"What vase?" Sandy asked. Seth needs to stop ruining things. Seth said nothing and dragged me away.

Now, I needed to go to the mall to get those things.

"So I don't think that you should go to cotillion." I remarked.

"Yes you are." Seth replied.

"I told your parents that I would stay out of trouble and if Holly is going to be there, I don't know if I can do that." I explained.

"Holly is not going to start a fight at a debutante ball." Seth countered. "Sammie, my mom has always wanted a daughter. She really wants you to be there."

Yeah, I don't think I can back out now. I still needed someone to go shopping with and as fun as Seth was to talk to, I don't think he'd be able to help with girls' clothes. I knocked on the door next door. It was answered by Marissa who was in her dress. She looked very beautiful in that dress.

"Oh, you're at my house." She stated.

"I kind of needed someone to go shopping with." I responded.

"Okay, I was just trying this on, but I can't seem to reach the zipper.

"I could." I volunteered. She turned around and I saw her perfect bare back. I then realized I was staring and zipped her up.

"Thanks." She told me. "So you were going shopping?"

"Yeah." I responded quickly.

"I could go with you." Kaitlin replied as she came to the door. "I need to get some shoes and I really don't want to go with my mom."

"Okay, sure." I agreed. I liked Kaitlin, not in the same way that I liked Marissa, but it was nice to have a female friend.

That evening, I went to the rehearsal with Seth.

"So what do we do at this rehearsal?" I asked Seth.

"Just stupid cotillion stuff." Seth answered. "Bowing and curtsying…"

I grabbed him as soon as I noticed dancing.

"D…dancing." I stuttered. "You didn't say that there was dancing."

"That's because you wouldn't have come if I had."

"I c…can't dance." I stammered.

"I can't dance either, but you let your partner lead you." Seth explained. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work for him.

We walked in and shortly, Marissa walked over to us.

"So it looks like you two need to be paired." She stated as a guy with long brown hair stepped out. "Samantha, this is Zach Stevens."

"Who am I with?" Summer asked.

"Well…I was going to put you with Seth, but I found someone else for him." Marissa remarked as a girl with short blonde hair walked over. "Seth, this is Anna Stern. She just moved her from Pittsburgh."

"So what am about me?" Summer asked. I felt kind of bad because it seemed like she didn't have a date because they weren't enough guys. I looked at Zach, who didn't look particularly thrilled.

"So I don't know how to dance." I whispered to Marissa.

"I can help." She offered before she led me and Zach. "So you guys are over here. You can get into waltz position."

I looked at Zach. He didn't seem to know what that was either. I did notice that he really towered me.

"Samantha, you put your hand on Zach's shoulder." Marissa instructed as I did so awkwardly. "No, let me show you."

Marissa put my hand in place.

"Now, Zach you'll put your right hand on her back like this." Marissa explained as she showed him. Her touch felt great. This was kind of awkward, though. "Do you remember that?"

"Should I be jealous?" Holly interrupted. She was with Luke and some other guy.

"We can take it from here." I told Marissa as I got into the same position with Zach. It didn't feel as good though.

"It looks like you're really into her." He commented. "You're in a lot of trouble."

"I know." I replied before Peggy came to instruct us on how to move. I would definitely have to wear heels because Zach towered over me.

"So you're the girl from Chino that stole a car." Zach replied. "Word spreads pretty quickly."

"Is that a problem?" I asked.

"No, I'd love to help you on your path to becoming a good girl." Zach quipped.

Three hours later, my feet hurt as I walked out with Seth.

"Three hours of dancing." I huffed.

"I feel like I could go for three more." Seth commented.

"So how did you two feel about that?" Marissa said as she came out. "Seth did you get along with Anna."

"Surprisingly well." Seth replied. "She likes comics too."

"What about you?" Marissa asked me. "You'll probably want to wear heels."

"I don't need to be reminded that I'm short." I remarked. At that point, Holly came over and hugged and kissed Marissa.

"I'm obligated to invite every deb and white knight over for a cookout." Holly replied. "But I also have the right to ask you to leave if there's any trouble."

"You didn't do it last year." Seth pointed out.

"Yes, I did." Holly replied before walking away.

"Is she planning to kill me?" I asked Marissa.

"No, you should come. I promise I'll get her to be civil." Marissa told me before she also walked away.

"Yeah, I'm not going." I told Seth.

"I don't want to go alone." Seth said.

"Summer's going to be there." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm still going, but I don't want to go alone." He remarked. "Listen, you're basically my sister now and that means that we should do stuff for one another. So, if you do this for me, somewhere down the line, I will repay you. I don't know what it's gonna be, but it will be awesome. Please?"

Well now, I had to go.

We ended up going to the party and once again, there were bikinis everywhere. There weren't any visible drugs at least.

"Give me ten minutes to find Summer." He requested.

"Ten minutes." I told him. I took a seat on the couch, hoping to avoid Holly at all costs. Maybe Seth should date Anna if they have so much in common.

I noticed that Marissa was in the kitchen and she seemed to notice me. She waved over, but I shook my head, so instead she came over to me, which was also a bad idea.

"Are you sure you wanna be seen with me?" I asked. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"I can talk to you." She responded. "Holly hasn't forbid me from being friends with other girls, and even if she did, I wouldn't listen to her. I'm glad you came. How could you possibly miss all this?"

I heard Luke and some of the guys were making fart noises.

"I just lost my appetite." I remarked. At that point, Holly walked over.

"I see you're making yourself at home." She remarked icily. "Can I get you a burger or some ribs?"

"Holly, you said you were going to be civil." Marissa chided her girlfriend.

"I'm being civil." Holly replied in defense. "I'm being a good hostess, but I don't understand why the one person in this house that you want to talk to is my girlfriend."

Well, Seth ditched me and Kaitlin's not here, at least I don't think she is.

"I wanted to talk to her." Marissa argued.

"Babe, you should talk to Summer. She looks kind of lonely since she doesn't have an escort." Holly suggested. I really think I should find Seth so we can leave.

"Or you can and I can finish talking to Samantha." Marissa replied. I'm starting to wonder if Marissa is worth it, even though Holly is a bitch.

"I'm leaving anyway." I stated. Marissa tried to stop me, but I could clearly see that I wasn't wanted.

"She can go if she wants." Holly said. For once, we agreed on something as she grabbed me and guided me toward the door.

"I'm not fighting you." I told her.

"What if I do this?" Holly asked before she kicked me in the gut. I hunched over in pain. Marissa then stepped in to scold her. I then noticed Seth.

"I think you need to fight back." He stated. "But you really are a Cohen. Let's go home."

He was going to owe me big for this.

The next night, I was in the pool house, reading some of Seth's comics. These storylines were crazy. Why did Spiderman think it would be a good idea to reveal his identity to the world? Seth then came in wearing his tux.

"Why are you not dressed?" He asked me.

"I don't want to go. I want to avoid Holly for the rest of my life." I explained.

"No, my mom won't let you do that." Seth replied. "You need to do this. You need to stop being a scaredy-cat and put your dress on. It was very expensive."

"Look, the more Holly pushes me, the more likely I'll be to push back and I could lose everything." I remarked.

"Well Holly's family will be there. She's not gonna do anything." Seth reasoned. "Do you want me to send my mom in here to make you get dressed?"

I sighed. I knew that I would have now. I opened my dress bag and took the white garment out.

"I can't do it with you in here." I told him.

"I am sending my mom just in case." He stated before he left the pool house. I pulled clothes off and began to put it on. I'm glad I could reach the zipper. It was at that moment that Kirsten walked in.

"You look beautiful." She told me. "I got you something to wear."

She presented me with a pair of white heels and some diamond earrings.

"So Seth said that you were having doubts." She remarked as she clipped the earrings on my non-pierced ears.

"I'm not like those other girls." I told her. "I don't fit in and everyone knows it."

"Hey, I felt the same way at my cotillion." Kirsten pointed out. "Okay, so I was more like them, but I still didn't feel like I belonged. I wish we had time to do your hair. Now if I only I could convince Sandy."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" I asked.

"We don't have time." She replied as I put the shoes on.

"So, I still feel like I'm going to trip wearing these." I replied. "Will people laugh if I do?"

"Yes, but you won't." She told me. At this moment, Kirsten felt more like my mom than my actual mom had in my whole life.

"Do I have enough to walk there, so I can practice?" I asked.

"Yes." She told me. I began to walk past the Cooper house and I saw Kaitlin was walking in a gold dress.

"What are you doing?" She asked me.

"I'm walking to cotillion." I replied. "You?"

"Same." She answered. "My mom is freaking you because Marissa doesn't want to go and neither does my dad, so I'm skipping the drama and walking. Maybe you should talk to Marissa. She might listen to you because she likes you."

Kaitlin let me into her house and I went up the stairs as I tried not to trip over them.

"What are you doing here?" She asked me. She was not wearing a dress.

"Kaitlin told me that you didn't want to go to cotillion." I remarked as Marissa glared at her sister. "Are you not going because of me and Holly?"

"I'm kind of surprised that you're going." Marissa commented.

"Well I realized that I have certain people that I don't want to let down." I responded. "I'm going, so you should come two. I'll fix your dress for you."

I don't think that we had time to walk now. So we all went into the house.

"We need a ride to cotillion." I told Sandy. Minutes later, he was in a tux and we were driving. I still hope that I don't trip.

We went into the green room so Marissa could get dressed.

"You said that you weren't coming." Holly replied angrily. "Now you're here with her?"

"No, I'm not here with her." Marissa argued. It didn't seem to help.

"Leave them alone." Kaitlin replied.

"Fuck this, it's over." Holly said as she walked out. I guess Marissa was single now. Marissa just shrugged and went to get dressed.

I guess I needed to go find Zach. I really need to make sure that I don't trip. You know if I keep thinking that I'll trip, I'll probably trip.

I found that I didn't have time to find him because I had to get in line. I was at the back. I hoped that Zach would be here, but to be honest, I really didn't care if he wasn't. I was here and I don't need a date.

"Samantha Atwood, daughter of Sanford and Kirsten Cohen." Peggy called. That was kind of awkward, hearing it like that. Plus calling me a daughter was a bit of stretch, but it sounded right. I walked out and met Sandy before meeting up with Zach.

We had to dance, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was just glad that I hadn't tripped. I'd still rather be dancing with Marissa, but apparently they didn't want the debs dancing with each other because they're still a bit traditionalist at least for that sake.

"You son of a bitch!" A man shouted as he suddenly punched Marissa's dad to the ground. He then got on top of him and began to strangle him. "You're a thief. You're a fucking thief."

Sandy went over to help, but he ended getting punched. Now he went too far. I went over and kneed him in the groin. The helped enough for some other guys to subdue him. Both Marissa and Kaitlin looked crushed about what they had just witnessed.

Not long after, the police showed up. I hoped that everything wasn't ruined right now. I went over to Sandy and Kirsten.

"So, I'm sorry. I know I promised not to get in any trouble." I remarked.

"That took a lot of courage and we can make an exception." Sandy told me. "The police are gonna have some questions and as your attorney, guardian, and father I can say you should get the hell out of here."

I began to walk away before Seth cut me off.

"So I was gonna walk Anna home." He stated. "I think that you made a very memorable debut. It's about time that we had a Cohen that can kick ass. You wanna come with?"

"No, I can make it back on my own." I replied. I went outside and I found Marissa, standing by a bench. She was predictably crying. I went and walked over to her.

"You okay?" I asked her.

"What happened in there?" She responded.

"I don't know." I admitted.

"What's gonna happen now?" She whimpered.

"I don't know." I responded. I wished that I did. "Let's just go."

We turned to leave and there was Holly in her dress, even though she had been absent from the cotillion. I think that was her dad that had attacked.

"I'm sorry." Holly replied. "Can I take you home? We can talk about this."

"I just need to be alone right now." Marissa declared as she walked off.

"So you hit my dad." She replied. I was now extremely nervous. "You know what, I don't care. Thank you for stopping him. I just want you to know that I am going to win her back."

She then walked away. I was just confused

So I skipped a few episodes. I really wanted to get to this one. Sammie didn't burn down one of Caleb's houses, but he's still not going to like her. I also have Kaitlin as her best female friend for things that Seth can't help with. Please don't forget to review.


	3. The Outsider

Seth and I went to this lobster restaurant. The first thing that we did was sit in front of the tank. I can't believe that they did this. Just put them in the back.

"Why are we doing this?" I questioned.

"We're learning to respect the enemy before we meet in battle." Seth explained. "Lobster-eating is a battle. Is that a new shirt?"

I was wearing a black and white…grey and lighter grey tank top and jeans.

"Yes, your mom bought me some new clothes, which she doesn't have to do by the way." I remarked because obviously telling his was helpful.

"Well you can't wear the same tank top all the time." Seth replied. "Speaking of which, do you think I would look good in a wife-beater?"

"You're asking the wrong girl." I responded before we went to a table. Half an hour, we had a few empty lobster shells in front of us. "Okay, as inhumane as this place is, it is delicious."

"So, what's going on with you and Marissa?" Seth inquired. "Have you been talking?"

"I don't think the timing is right with everything with dad." I told him. I had no idea what was going to happen to her dad. I'm pretty sure what he did was illegal.

"Sammie, let me be frank." Seth started. "You need to be aggressive because she and Holly are broken up and you need to be there before they get back together."

"What am I supposed to do?" I questioned. "I don't have any money and no car. Holly has me beat there."

At that moment, the waiter came with the check.

"I've got it. I've been doing extra sailing lessons this week." Seth said as his took out his credit card. I wanted to groan when he did.

"Ugh, I don't want to keep mooching off your guys." I responded as I grabbed my head. "Your parents are paying for everything."

"They're parents. They work for us." Seth pointed out.

"They're your parents." I argued.

"Well they're your adoptive parents." Seth stated. "Okay, so how are you going to make money?"

At that time, a waiter stormed out of the building.

"Well that's an interesting coincidence." I stated.

"You need to give me free lobster." Seth declared.

The next day, I was preparing for work.

"This works out great for me." Seth told me. "Now I'll have time to do all of the things that I haven't been able to do since you got here, like start my novel."

"Because you were doing so good before I got here." I quipped.

"The point is I have nine hours of me time." He replied. "I'm gonna learn Chinese and study Metallica."

"Are you gonna be okay without me?" I questioned.

"Yes, I know how to hang out by myself." Seth answered as I went out the door. I couldn't help but wonder how long it was going to be until he showed up. I don't think it's common for siblings to show up. '

We went into the house and noticed Sandy was eavesdropping on Kirsten and her lady friends.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Seth questioned.

"I'm waiting for them to disperse." Sandy answered as he hid behind the wall. "I left my briefcase there and I need it for work."

"Can you give me a ride?" I inquired as I heard them talking about Jimmy going to jail.

I really hoped that we could get it soon because I didn't want to be late on my first day. I hoped that I would be able to do this.

When I got to work, I met a guy named Donny.

"Okay, so I'll give you the rundown." He explained. He showed me where plates and trash went, which I probably could have figured out on my own and how to deal with drunks.

"Have you been working here long?" I questioned.

"Too long." He answered. "Everybody here is a freakshow that likes to splurge on everything. Welcome to Newport where things only appear to be casual. Of course living here does has its upside."

At that moment, I saw Marissa, Kaitlin, and Summer walk in. Summer was only wearing a bikini top.

"Hi." I greeted Marissa.

"You work here?" Kaitlin asked. "Do you think they'll hire me since I have no money?"

"Are you 16?" Donny questioned. She shook her head and he walked away.

"So how's your dad?" I responded.

"He's okay." Marissa answered.

"What about you two?" I replied.

"Hey, I'm starving." Summer declared.

"I should get back to work." I remarked before we separated. "Wait, Marissa, do you want to hang out sometime?"

"Are you asking me on a date?" Marissa asked, blushing.

"Uh…yeah." I replied with a matching blush of my own as Kaitlin went to the table.

"I can't." She responded before she went to the table.

A little bit later into my shift, I couldn't help but notice that Holly came in. Maybe she won't see me.

"I hate bitch." Donny told me. "She walks in like she owns the place. That Abercrombie-wearing cheerleader wouldn't last two minutes in Corona."

"You're from Corona?" I questioned before I pointed to myself.. "I'm from Chino."

"This is a long way from home. That place is no joke." Donny replied. I noticed that Holly and Marissa beginning to talk. Summer had dragged Kaitlin to the bathroom. "So I bet these Newport kids make you sick."

"Not all of them." I stated, looking at Marissa.

"Okay, I have to agree with you on that." He responded. "I like the surf, the tips and the girls. I can even show you some real people after work. Just stick close to me, Shorty."

I then noticed that Marissa was walking out. She forgot her sister. I hoped that Summer give her a ride or something.

At the end of the day, Donny gave me a share of tips.

"We don't usually tip trainees, but these wouldn't be as big if not for you." He stated, because girls apparently get better tips. "But now you have to buy me a beer."

Donny went to get his jacket and I walked outside where I noticed Seth. I can't believe that he made it the whole day without coming here.

"So I was in the neighborhood and I checked my watch and saw that you were getting off." He remarked. I could tell he was lying. "Maybe we could celebrate your first day on the job."

"I have plans." I declared before Donny came behind me.

"You ready to go, Shorty?" He asked.

"This is Donny, he grew up in the town next to me." I explained to Seth. "This is Seth."

"Hey man." Donny replied as he shook Seth's hand. "There are some girls I want you to meet. The blonde is bi."

"Can he come?" I asked Donny.

"No, I'm good. You do your thing." Seth stated. "I'll just see you tomorrow."

He looked like he wanted to go, but was too proud to say it.

I was very tired the next morning, and kind of sore. I noticed Seth at the table. I grabbed some Captain Crunch and noticed he had a comic.

"What are you reading?" I asked before yawning loudly. He just mumbled something. I began to eat from the box, which he didn't seem to mind.

"So how was last night?" Seth asked. We exchanged some one word sentences

"You know you could have come." I pointed out.

Later in the day, I wasn't working and I went to the boardwalk where I couldn't help but notice Marissa in a bikini. Maybe I should start wearing one out here.

"So I was just going to check my schedule." I stated as I found out that Marissa was going there too.

"You better not leave me this time." Kaitlin declared as she stepped out from the side of vehicle wearing a black bikini.

"So I wanted to ask you out." I remarked.

"Kaitlin and I need to stay in tonight." Marissa replied. "But you're welcome to join us."

"But if you two are going to be making out, don't do it in the living room when I'm watching TV." Kaitlin quipped, causing both of us to blush.

"Would I fit in better if I was wearing a bikini?" I asked them nervously. I didn't really have much experience with them because I didn't swim much.

"Probably." Marissa replied. "They sell them on the boardwalk."

I decided I would try on a blue one. I felt a bit nervous in it to be honest. It turned out that they had my working the afternoon shift. It could have been worse I guess.

So later I was finishing up with Seth walked in.

"So how would you feel about the IMAX experience?" He asked as I raised my eyebrow. "This town sucks. It was the best that I could do. So do you want to go or not?"

"I can't." I responded. "I'm hanging out with Marissa and Kaitlin tonight."

"Then we can buy two more tickets." Seth responded.

"They need to be home in case someone tries to vandalize or steal from their house." I explained.

"Oh, right their dad ruined some lives." Seth remarked. "Well, have fun."

"Hey, Donny. I'm heading out." I told my coworker.

"Okay, I cannot believe that we survived this. I'm still hung-over." Donny declared as he handed my cut. Okay that makes it sound like we were dealing drugs.

"Hey, Donny I got an extra ticket to the IMAX if you're interested." Seth told him.

"I have a better idea. There's this house party with crazy honeys." Donny remarked. "Wanna come?"

"Is that cool?" Seth asked.

"Of course it is." Donny replied. "Just let me get changed."

"Seth, he's from a shady neighborhood. I don't know if you can handle that." I told my new brother. "Not to mention, he doesn't really like kids like you."

"So I'll drive there and park my mom's Range Rover up the street." Seth replied. "Look maybe I hang out with Donny some, we can all be friends and we can hang all out some time."

"You two coming?" Donny asked after he came out.

"We'll go for one hour." I told Seth. I knew this was a bad idea. I texted Kaitlin to tell Marissa I was going to be late. I didn't have Marissa's number because of the Holly thing.

So we went to the party. The first that I heard was the Black-Eyed Peas. I wish they would just go away. If I didn't have experience with this kind of stuff, I would be scared. I was still kind of scared. Seth thought that he was the coolest thing ever for coming here.

"She's a good dancer." Seth commented as we noticed the blonde from last night stripping on a table.

"Yo Chino Girl!" Donny called. "I want you to meet some of my boys."

"We should take her back to the pool house." Seth suggested.

"Don't say pool house." I instructed.

Not that long after, I took out my phone and called Marissa's home number.

"So I got dragged to a party and I'm on my way." I explained as Donny rubbed my shoulders very briefly, but not in a flirty way. "I just have to get Seth away from this dancer."

"Dancer?" Marissa asked in disbelief.

"It's a very long story." I responded. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

I went to grab Seth and the girls looked at me jealously.

"I'm his sister." I replied. It was a good enough lie for now.

"Hey, I'm really connecting with this girl." Seth said before he proceeded to tell me her life story. "Okay, let's go."

As we were walking out, we couldn't help but here about someone crashed a Range Rover. Kirsten was not going to be happy about that. Seth looked at the car in shock. I knew I suddenly had to cancel.

The next day, Seth, Sandy, and I were looking over the damage. There was a lot of damage.

"So this happened in the parking lot of the IMAX?" Sandy asked in disbelief. Does Seth really think that story would decrease his chance of dying?

"Shark movies bring out a rough crowd." Seth declared.

"I'll call the insurance, but you're explaining this to your mother tonight." Sandy explained. "I feel sorry for you."

"So when do you want me to say it?" I asked.

"Say what?" Seth asked. "If it's 'I told you so.', I would prefer that you not saying it."

"I'm going to work." I stated. Marissa was mad at me. As I walked by the house, I couldn't help but notice Kaitlin, wearing the same shirt that I was.

"They agreed to hire me for half the normal wage." She explained. That was like only a dollar less. "But I get to keep all of my tips."

"So is Marissa still pissed at me?" I questioned.

"I've decided that I am not getting involved in anything between you two." Kaitlin declared. "If you want to apologize to her, then you need to tell her yourself. So what's this about Seth and a dancer?"

"His mom's car got destroyed." I explained.

"So is it hard being a waitress?" She asked

"It's really not as hard as I thought it would be." I admitted. "Maybe it's because most people get the same thing most of the time."

"I don't know what's going to happen with my dad." Kaitlin told me. "I never thought that I would ever have to work. My dad really screwed up. I might not even get to go to cotillion. I've been good. What did I do to deserve this?"

After dark, Kaitlin was shadowing me. Seth came in.

"So I talked to Marissa." He said. "I told her that everything was my fault and she agreed to go out with you again."

"Or you could have him apologize." Kaitlin remarked. Seth looked a little confused by that.

"What are you talking about?" I inquired.

"You can have the house to yourself. She's going to be coming over soon and you'll be cooking." Seth explained. I then noticed Donny was talking to Seth again. I'm really starting to think that the two of them being friends is a terrible idea.

"No." I told Seth.

"You can stop scowling at me." Seth instructed.

"You're asking for a disaster." I replied. I had a feeling that I was going to be dragged to a party with a bunch of people that didn't like me with a guy that doesn't like them.

"It's going to be fine." Seth declared. "You have a date. Now make me proud."

"You know I don't think anyone would expect that he'd been getting in more trouble than you." Kaitlin told me as we walked home. "You were right about the job, though. It really wasn't as hard as it looked. I just hope that I don't have to do it for a long time."

After I got home, I took out the grill and waited for Marissa to show up. I was still very nervous about Seth.

"I brought you some leftovers." She said as she arrived with a Tupperware of mac and cheese.

"Do you eat hamburgers?" I asked.

"No, my mom doesn't like me eating meat." She replied. "But she's not here."

"Well in that case, dinner is served." I responded as I put them on a plate. "I've got ketchup, mustard and hot sauce. Do you want anything else?"

"No, this is good." Marissa replied. "Is there any chance that you can make one for Kaitlin? She loves hamburgers, but doesn't ever get to have them either."

"Sure." I responded. "You know she's actually pretty good at the job."

So after we were done eating, Marissa and I were out by the pool and Kaitlin was in the pool house eating her burger.

"You make a mean burger." Marissa remarked as we stuck our feet in the water. "Of course I haven't had one in a while, so who knows if I'm just glad to have one."

"So I got a bikini." I told her. "I can put on and we can go in the pool."

"I'm just glad to be here with you right now and I'm fine just sitting here." She stated.

"So Kaitlin was pretty shaken up about your dad, how are you?" I questioned.

"I'm okay." Marissa answered. That seems to be how she always answers that. I just looked at her. "Okay, I'm kind of scared of what's going to happen. My parents are always fighting , even though I think my mom is part of the reason that we're in this mess with her overspending. I guess what I want most is for us not to fall apart."

"Let's do something fun." I suggested before I called into the pool house. "Hey, Kaitlin, do you wanna go to a party?"

Before I could react, Marissa pushed me into the pool, but I grabbed onto her and pulled her in with me.

"A pool party works too." Kaitlin declared as she stepped out of the pool house. "I'm gonna go change and I'll be right back."

I just hoped that Donny wasn't making too much trouble at the party. Once we were out, we began to dry off. That was fun. Just as we were about to kiss, my phone rang. I went to get it and saw that it was Seth.

"Hello?" I answered.

"So I think that Donny might be crazy." He replied. I kind of already knew that.

"This is kind of a bad time." I stated.

"This is very serious." Seth declared. "Just take my dad's car and meet me at Holly's."

"I'll be right there." I promised before hanging up. I then looked at Marissa. "So, Seth told me that I need to come to Holly's. I think this might be trouble."

"I can't go there." Marissa responded.

"I'm sorry that this keeps happening." I apologized.

"You do what you have to do." Marissa told me before she left.

As soon as I got there, I noticed that Donny was getting into it with Holly.

"Donny." I said to him.

"I should have figured that this loser was a friend of yours." Holly remarked. "How about both of you get out of my house."

"We should really go." Seth stated as he grabbed me. I think I was actually concerned for Holly for a change. That concern only magnified when Donny pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. People began to run.

"How much do you hate this bitch, Samantha?" Donny asked. "How about you, Seth?"

"She has her flaws." Seth commented.

"I'm sorry." Holly apologized in fear. "You can have whatever you want."

"Put it down, Donny." I ordered. I went against my best judgment and tackled him, managing to get the gun out of his hands, but it went off and people screamed. I noticed that Holly had been hit in the arm. Some guys grabbed Donny, probably going to hold him until the cops got there.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Summer cried.

"Holly, stay with me." I told her. "You're going to be okay."

Once I got to the hospital, I called Marissa.

"So I'm at the hospital." I told her. Seth was currently talking to a cop. "This guy brought a gun to the party and Holly got shot, but she should be okay. It didn't hit anywhere vital. You should probably come down here, though."

After I was done, Seth and I were in the waiting room.

"Do not say it." He warned me. "You were right."

"Well there should be an opening now." I told him.

"No, I want to work on the novel." Seth declared. "Tonight would definitely make a good chapter."

At that point, Marissa showed up.

"She's okay. She's with her parents." I explained.

"Was this guy a friend of yours?" Marissa asked.

"He was a coworker." I told her.

"Well thanks for telling me." She stated. "I should go."

"I can wait." I remarked. Marissa just refused before she went up. "I never thought this was how the date would end."

"So I think that we'd be better off if we stuck together because it seems that I can make stupid decisions when I'm not with you." Seth replied.

"Sounds good." I agreed.

I have a lot to say about this chapter other than it's crazy to picture Stefan Salvatore like that. Please don't forget to review.


	4. The Girlfriend

Seth and I were currently helping Sandy and Kirsten unload the groceries from the car. You would think that this isn't a four person job, but if you saw the amount of groceries Kirsten bought, you'd know that it was

"Are we worried that your dad won't love us if we don't feed him enough?" Sandy asked.

"Okay, from this point on, no more sarcasm." Kirsten declared. I think that might cause Seth to explode.

"Are we going to say no insulting him either because Dad called him a heartless bastard earlier?" Seth asked as we began to grab some bags.

"You sold me out." Sandy said to his son. I actually was not looking forward to meeting my new grandfather. I hadn't heard a lot of nice things about him.

"So, you grandpa basically owns Newport." I remarked.

"Yes, and much like yourself, he comes from humble beginnings. You'll probably hit it off."

"Was he taken in by a wealthy family?" I questioned.

"No." Seth replied. "Come on it's not like burned down on one of his homes. Seriously he has a brand new girlfriend. You don't have to worry about him. Everything is going to be fine. Trust me."

"Seth!" An old man who I assume was Caleb said as he came out and gave Seth a hug. "You're still not a football player."

"Yes, but thank you for noticing." Seth quipped. "Grandpa, meet your new granddaughter, Samantha."

"You're the runaway." Caleb told me as I went to shake his hand. He shook it with a little bit of urging from Seth. He turned back to him and grabbed some the bags. He seemed like he was in good shape. "So did you see my pictures from Spain and you've got to promise me to go to Barcelona while you're still young. So do you want to take those and put them around by the Grill?"

He was referring to the bags of charcoal. Yes, I, the female was supposed to do the heavy lifting. He was lucky that I worked out. I went out back and I happened to see a gorgeous blonde in a blue bikini coming out of the pool. I couldn't help but stare.

"Hi." She greeted me.

"Hey." I greeted her dumbly.

"I'm Gabrielle. I'm with Caleb." She explained as she began to dry off. Well my grandpa had excellent taste. I continued to stare.

"Oh my God, that could be my grandma." Seth declared. I almost didn't hear him. She looked at me flirtatiously. "We should get in the pool."

So, I changed into my bikini and Seth and I went in the hot tub as we watched Gabrielle float on a…float.

"Is it twisted that I find my potential grandma really hot?" Seth asked me.

"No." I answered simply.

"Gabrielle." Caleb called as he came out. She looked at him. "We're going to sit, drink some wine, and catch up."

"Okay." Gabrielle responded. I wasn't sure if she was old enough to drink. "I'll stay out here."

"Good." Caleb agreed. "Just stay out of trouble."

"Can I join you two?" She asked as she swam toward the tub. We shook our heads and she got in. She walked over next to me. "It's warm. So what's up?"

Seth and I struggled to come up with an intelligible answer.

"So this birthday party for Caleb, it's like a who's who of Newport?" She questioned. Seth nodded. "It should be wild, huh? I'm being sarcastic."

"We don't get a lot of that around here." Seth responded. Just him and his dad to be accurate.

"So who are you bringing?" She asked.

"No one." Seth answered.

"Really two hot teenagers like you can't get dates?" She responded in disbelief.

"Well she's a dyke and I'm a dork. Ow!" Seth stated before I kicked his leg. "Her name is Summer."

"Did you invite her?" Gabrielle asked.

"It's not that simple." Seth babbled.

"She can't say yes if you don't ask her." She pointed out.

"That is true." Seth agreed.

"What about you, Miss Hot Young Lesbian?" Gabrielle asked.

"Did you ask Marissa?" Seth added.

"I don't think that Marissa will want to go to a Newport party." I answered.

"Why not?" Gabrielle questioned.

"Her family is in shambles and she might be back with her girlfriend." I explained.

"They've been going since the 5th grade." Seth added.

"5th grade?" Gabrielle asked. "Okay, she needs to change it up. She's known that girl since they were eating paste."

I'm pretty sure people stopped doing that by 5th grade.

"I think she still does." Seth quipped. Holly will kill him if she finds out about that. A little bit later we got out of the hot tub and began to dry off. I needed to head into work. I then went over to talk to Marissa. Kaitlin answered the door, dressed for work.

"Are you here to Marissa?" She asked.

"Yeah." I answered.

"Well, someone kind of beat you to it." Kaitlin told me. I guess Holly was here. "But if you want to walk to work together, that's okay with me."

"Sure." I agreed as she stepped out the door. "So Kirsten's dad is in town and she's throwing this birthday party for him and I guess Marissa won't be available."

At that point, she and Holly came downstairs, holding hands. It looked like Holly was more interested.

"So I wanted to thank you for taking me to the hospital and calling Marissa." Holly stated.

"Just being a Good Samaritan." I replied uncomfortably. I grabbed Kaitlin's hand. "We need to go."

"So what were you saying about the party?" Kaitlin asked me as we began to walk.

"Well I was wondering if you wanted to come with me since Marissa obviously doesn't." I declared.

"Let's see hang around with a group of people that hate my dad?" She asked with a grin. I guess that was a no. I was bad at this. "I would be happy to go."

Work was kind of weird. Donny was currently facing charges from Holly's mother since her father was also facing charges. It was working preparing to go to a table when I noticed Gabrielle walked in, wearing clothes.

"Hey." She greeted me, which I reciprocated. "Seth and Caleb were sailing. I've never seen two people more excited about boats. Seth said that you work here and I could use a cocktail."

"Ask someone over 18." I suggested.

"How about a cranberry juice?" She asked.

"Okay, but this isn't my section." I told her. I had a feeling that she would try to find out where that was. She did and I brought the drink to her before she pulled out a mini vodka.

"From the flight." She beamed. "I hate flying. Do you?"

"I've never flown." I answered. I wasn't exactly the bartender here

"My first time, I was 15. My mom sent me to Japan all by myself to do some modeling." She explained as she mixed the booze with her juice. For some reason, I don't think that would be very good. "I guess she figured it was easier than her having to get a job."

"I can relate." I declared. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go to another table."

"Who is that?" Kaitlin asked me as we crossed paths.

"That is Caleb's girlfriend." I replied. "She could be my grandmother."

"Hugh Hefner's kids probably know what that's like." Kaitlin pointed out.

I later ended up finding out that Gabrielle lived with a bunch of girls and no parents. It sounded wild.

"So is that the girl?" Gabrielle asked me, referring to Kaitlin.

"No, that is her sister." I answered.

"Well she's hot too. I wouldn't be upset with that." She declared as I blushed.

"She's 15." I pointed out.

"That's not too young for you." She argued before I noticed someone asking for water. Thank God. She was making me uncomfortable. I mean I liked Kaitlin as a friend. I didn't want to tell the blonde that I had already invited her to the party.

She did let me share some of her food during my break.

"So what are you doing after you get out of the pool house?" Gabrielle asked.

"What's next for you?" I challenged. "Are you going to London or Paris?"

It was at that time that I noticed Marissa. She was wearing a white skirt that definitely made her look hot.

"Do you have a minute?" She asked me. We then went outside.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you, but…" She started.

"Holly was there." I completed.

"Right." She agreed. "She wants to get back together."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"I said that I needed to think about it." Marissa explained. I was not impressed. To be honest, it felt kind of like she was stringing me along and I didn't know what do to about it. "I don't know what to do."

"I don't know either, but I know you can't have both of us." I stated. "I'm not going to help you choose. If you want to go out with me, let me know."

"Sammie, you're break's over." Kaitlin told me.

The next day, I was with Seth on the beach. I seriously don't know how these girls can constantly go around wearing their bikinis. Maybe it's a learned behavior that I just haven't learned yet.

"So Marissa wanted what exactly?" He asked me.

"She wanted to tell me that she was getting back together with Holly basically." I explained. Once we were at the pier, we couldn't help but notice that Marissa and Summer were at the pier.

"Well this is fate." Seth remarked. "We both like burritos."

"We should eat somewhere." I stated looking at them.

"Am I sweating right now?" He asked. I sighed. We began to walk over. Summer stopped in front of us. "Hi Summer, Seth Cohen."

"I need you to help me with something." Summer stated as she dragged Seth away. I don't think she wanted anything to do with him, but she did want me to have some alone time with Marissa.

"Okay, so maybe you want to figure some stuff out, but where does this leave me? I mean if I said no, would you get with Holly?" I asked.

"Holly asked me to your new grandpa's birthday." She stated.

"So I guess you've made your choice." I noted. "I'll see you two there."

I guess I was glad that I already had a date. I also had no idea what kind of dress I was going to wear. That was one of the reasons that we were out here because I needed Seth to help me shop. Kaitlin was busy working.

That night, we were at dinner, which included Caleb and Gabrielle. I guess was that I was living with one of the rich families that didn't have one of those giant-ass tables. There was still a lot of tension at the table. I wasn't completely sure why to be honest.

"You have a quick wit, Seth." Caleb commented. "It's amazing that you're not better at skirt-chasing.

Gabrielle looked like she was about to speak, but I glared at her, thinking she was going to say something about me chasing skirts. My sexuality was not any of his business and if he was going to find out, it wasn't going to be from his future trophy wife.

"If by skirts, you mean girls in your outdated cowboy speak, then I have a little news for you." Seth declared. "It turns out that I have a date for your birthday party. And it's not a big deal, but Summer asked me."

"Summer's hot." Sandy stated. That was creepy.

"You did not just say that." Seth declared as Gabrielle giggled. "Just go."

"What about you Sammie?" Gabrielle asked me.

"I'm bringing a friend." I stated. It was true. "The one from work…"

At that point, I went out to the pool house. It was at that moment, that Kaitlin came over the gate.

"Can I sleep over tonight?" She asked me.

"Why are you asking?" I questioned suspiciously.

"Because Marissa invited Holly over and I don't want to be there when the two of them have makeup sex." She explained.

"Okay." I agreed.

A few hours later, Seth was going to bed.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked the brunette.

"What do you want to do?" She countered as she crawled on my bed and looked over some of Seth's comics. She then began to rub my leg.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Come on, you know that Marissa isn't available." Kaitlin purred. She leaned forward. "Just don't think about it."

She then kissed me and I began to kiss her back. Before we could go anywhere, we were interrupted by Caleb looking for Gabrielle. I broke apart. That was really nice.

"How about we pause for now." I requested. "We can just sleep because I'm tired."

I was also pretty confused. No, I actually very confused.

The next day, Seth and I were floating in the pool.

"How's Gabrielle?" Seth asked.

"I don't know." I answered, wondering why he was asking me. He was asking me about the wrong girl.

"Oh really because chose to forego sailing to go to the crab shack." Seth pointed out.

"So, not everyone likes sailing." I told him. "Look, I am not hooking up with her if that's what you think. If you needed some juicy lesbian gossip then I can say that I kind of made out with Kaitlin last night."

"What?" Seth asked in surprise. "She's Marissa's sister."

"I'm well aware of who she is related to." I stated. "It just happened."

"You two need to get out of the pool." Kirsten interrupted. "The caterers are here. It's time to get ready."

"We're not done talking about this." Seth remarked.

"Well, we're done for now, because I need to put my dress on." I told him. "And you better not tell Marissa or your grandpa…or anyone."

"How was it?" He asked.

"Getting changed now." I declared as I exited the pool, grabbed a towel and went to my pool house. Even considering what happened last night, I still felt like I wanted to be with Marissa even though she was stringing me along.

I put on my red satin dress and prepared even though I really wasn't looking forward to socializing with any of these people. I still felt weird about the Kaitlin thing. She came to meet me at the pool house, looking…really hot. We went out and looked around where we were met by Gabrielle.

"So are you going to introduce us, Sammie?" Gabrielle asked.

"Kaitlin, this is Gabrielle, Caleb's girlfriend." I introduced as the two of them shook hands. Gabrielle ended up chewing on a cherry sensually, which made Kaitlin glare at her jealously. "We should go…get some food because I am hungry."

I dragged Kaitlin away to prevent a catfight.

"What is up with your grandfather's girlfriend hitting on you?" Kaitlin asked angrily.

"I don't know." I replied. "Look, last night was a little weird."

"Marissa doesn't get to have you and Holly." Kaitlin reminded me. "I mean she's here with her right now."

We went inside and saw that Holly was indeed being flirty with Marissa and Marissa seemed to be flirting back. I went outside and noticed that Seth was with Summer, Summer actually didn't look very interested in him, but he was probably happy to be with her at least.

"Sammie, I'm sorry." Kaitlin told me. "I know that you have feelings for Marissa and there's nothing that I can do about it, but I just don't want to see you sitting around waiting for something that may never come. If she is going to date someone else, why can't you? What is my dad doing here?"

I looked to see that her mom was arguing with her dad.

"Oh god, get me out of here." Kaitlin remarked. "I don't want to see them fighting anymore. Marissa at least Holly for this and I have no one."

I took her to the pool house and I started to understand her. She was trying to cling to me because of her parent's issues.

"You have me." I told her. "It may not be as a girlfriend, but you definitely have me as a friend."

"I'd really like to try it as a girlfriend." Kaitlin stated with some tears in her eyes. You know, I didn't expect to see her like this. I was used to Marissa being vulnerable to me, but I never once thought about how Kaitlin feels about this thing. She obviously didn't get a job because she needed some extra spending money, she was afraid that she was going to lose all of her money and wanted to get something so she could at least support herself. I gave her a hug.

It was at that point that she kissed me again, and I didn't push her away. She began to rub my back and unzip my dress and started to remove it. It was at that time, that my door opened and Marissa came in, looking freaked. Why did I think that it was a good idea not to lock that?

"What the fuck?" Marissa remarked. She looked hurt and betrayed.

"Okay, this is bad." Kaitlin commented. I wasn't sure which one of was supposed to go after her. I guess she was probably less angry at me at the moment and entered the house and began to look for her.

I went out front and managed to see her and Holly driving off. Well things just went from bad to worse. I didn't know what I was going to do. I mean I had Kaitlin who wanted to be with me, but I didn't feel as strongly about her as I did Marissa.

I went upstairs and I noticed that Gabrielle had found me.

"Look, I have enough problems with girls right now and I don't need you to add to this." I told her.

"Well, okay, but I think that your heart will know who you want to be with." She told me. "Also sometimes we don't always go for the right because we want the right now more."

I decided to go outside and saw that Holly was bringing Marissa back and they both had that glow to them. I was pretty sure what had happened. I went into the pool house where Kaitlin was.

I went over to the pool house where Kaitlin still was.

"Do you still want to do it?" I asked her.

So I changed the plot of this episode. The love triangle is officially underway. Unfortunately, it will get more complicated next chapter when Kaitlin doesn't get to go to Tiajuana. Please don't forget to review.


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